I think that I’ve always been somewhat musical, but I never realized how much it was a part of my life until I started to write this short bio. One of the first recollections of music in my life is watching my brother Rick (original TSR drummer) play on anything he could bang on in the house. I remember always being somewhat intrigued with music as a child. I'm told that I got my voice from my grandfather, and my step-grandfather played the alto sax. So music seemed to be at the forefront of my life as a youngster.

Then, for a number of years my mom was married to Gene Schroeder, the piano player in the Dukes of Dixieland. I know his expertise influenced me as a young boy and on my later career choices. I remember listening to Gene and the Dukes play. I didn’t really appreciate their style of music then, but I did know they were good. Now I have a much greater appreciation for Dixieland jazz. In fact, I always feel honored to sing Louis Armstrong’s best-known numbers. Wasn’t he the greatest!

My childhood was a confusing time, and one of my biggest responsibilities was to my brother, Rick. He was a year and a half younger, and I frequently looked after him. Like me, he has always been naturally musical. He is a superb drummer, although he seldom plays professionally any more. Nonetheless, he and I sorta grew up in the same musical tradition. Here we are in the 1970s.

The single most important set of events came when I was a Freshman in high school. Gene had died and Mom had stayed in the last town where they had lived. That was, believe it or not, Hayward, WI, where the Dukes had often performed for Tony Wise at Historyland and at Mt. Telemark. Mr. Wise loved Dixieland music and hired the Dukes often throughout the years.

I was not doing well at school. I was held back twice and dropped out of high school for a year. But I had an untested reputation as being a pretty good rock and roll singer. I was asked to join a group of five high school students who had formed a typical “garage band.” We rehearsed maybe all of four times and were scheduled to play our first gig at Hayward HS on a Friday afternoon during activity period. Unbeknownst to me, they had asked one of the teachers to give them a review. I was, at that time a high school drop-out. I was sixteen.

The five songs we played were probably really bad. But the teacher, Pete Roller, who was a History teacher and a professional musician, had some pretty good suggestions as to how we could get better. As I think back on it, that was the first major musical turning point in my life.

“Mr. R” told us that we needed to get some horns in the band, decide to play music and not noise, and remember that people hear music with their eyes. Two weeks later we had reorganized into an eight piece band. The problem was that the horns didn’t play in the same keys as the keyboard and guitars. We were stumped. So we asked Mr. R to help us. He became our behind the scenes musical director and for our entire fourteen month existence, he worked to make us a versatile and showy group. His rules were simple: stay in school, get decent grades, and no booze or drugs.

We named this band The Patriotic Brass, dressed alike in red, white and blue, and we won a battle of the bands in Park Falls, WI that summer of 1970. That really got us excited and we rehearsed even harder. We performed in WI and IL for the next fourteen months mainly on occasional weekends. We were Sophomores, Juniors and Seniors. We had great fun together, learned a lot about music, the entertainment business, and about ourselves. I remember that after our last song of the last gig at the Ridge Club in Madison, WI, all eight of us went out into the parking lot and held on to each other and cried. We knew the band was done, and we suddenly understood what it felt like to be part of a team that had won but would never play together again.

As I think back on this Patriotic Brass experience, it has occurred to me that this was really what gave my life some direction. First, it put me in contact with some well-balanced, sharp kids who came from good homes. They were cheerleaders, Varsity athletes, and excellent students. My brother and I had never been part of that crowd and the band gave us a whole new experience. Some of those parents became surrogate parents for me. I certainly remember their encouragement. Especially Viv and Charlie France. They are gone now, but they are part of my best memories.

The second thing that made the difference for me was the personal relationship that Rick and I had with Mr. R and his family. He took us under his wing, made suggestions, and we knew he understood stuff about the music business because he was still playing in a successful band down in the Chicago area. So we listened to him. He set the bar high for us and we just kept reaching for it. I remember one time at a rehearsal when he grabbed me and yelled in my face that I should sing and not scream.

Rick and I were going into our Junior year when the PB broke up and between us and the Seniors that were left, we asked Mr. R to be our bass player. That’s how TSR started and it is described more in detail elsewhere on this website.

It was the band experience that made the difference for me. As I said, Mr. R didn’t tolerate any alcohol or drugs, and made us do homework on weekend TSR gigs. He was adamant about us keeping up our grades. His support and guidance was successful. While in high school, I also participated in band and choir. Mr. Merrill Mohr, the choral director at Hayward High School, was also instrumental in helping me to pursue a career in music as he lined up my first vocal audition with Mr. Bill Otis, a vocal professor from Northland College. As a result of that one audition, after graduating from high school, I earned a full music scholarship at Northland College in Ashland. My brother, Rick, and Chuck, one of the trumpet players, attended there as well. It was close to home and TSR could still keep on playing. Mr. R often worked with us when we were writing term papers. His guidance was always there for us.

That’s how I became an instrumental and choral education music major. I quite wasn’t sure what I would do with it, but I was in college and had a goal—to graduate. I did complete my BA (Magna Cum Laude) in four years, and at my Senior recital at Northland College, I remember that Mr. R’s wife, Sue, actually wept when she heard me sing the operatic selections I was required to perform.

After graduation, I continued to work in TSR until the autumn of 1980. Then I took a year and a half off. I returned to college and got my music education certification and began teaching high school music. I kept TSR together as a performing group during the last half of the 80s.

During the 1990s, I earned a MS in Music Education. It completed my educational dreams. Not bad for a High School dropout! If you get the feeling that I am proud of that accomplishment, well I am.

I have worked as a public school teacher in only two high school districts: Boyceville and Elk Mound. I learned a lot from those 22 years, and my High School band and choir kids challenged me, and I in turn, challenged them. I am proud of my record as a high school teacher. My PB and TSR experience has served me well.

Eventually my wife, Amy, became the female vocalist in TSR. She still joins the present group on occasion as a featured member. We all love it when she is on stage again with us.

All of my children are very musical. Brandon is a bass player (when he has time for it), Jared is an outstanding drummer, and Mary is an awesome singer. The apples sure don’t fall very far….

Today, in addition to playing drums, trumpet, flugelhorn, and singing the leads with TSR, I am the current director of the Women’s Choir at UW-Eau Claire. I also give clinics and serve as an adjudicator for the Wisconsin School Music Association judging high school musical ensembles, marching bands, show choirs, and jazz bands. Occasionally I work with other high school groups that need extra help. I also give private music lessons and even conduct church choir. I may be retired from teaching, but I can’t seem to give up the connection to the kids.

The current TSR is probably the best group I have ever been part of. We all like one another and appreciate the different talents and musical perspectives we each bring to the band. We purposely choose difficult music and songs which no bands in the Chippewa Valley would ever consider performing. From rock to ballads to intricate harmonies, we four guys enjoy using all ten of the instruments we can play. Actually, we are adding more instruments to our stage just so we can do certain songs more effectively.

So, that’s who I am. Music is part of all of our lives. But in mine, it has been a significant guiding factor. You might say that my musical experiences changed me from a quarter note to a whole note.